a literature

8/2/2019 A Literature

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GCEAS and A Level Specification

English Literature A

AS exams 2009 onwards

A2 exams 2010 onwards


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GCE English Literature A Specication for AS exams 2009 onwards and A2 exams 2012 onwards (version 1.2)

1

1 Introduction 2

1.1 Why choose AQA? 21.2 Why choose English Literature A? 2

1.3 How do I start using this specication? 3

1.4 How can I nd out more? 3

2 SpecicationataGlance 4

3 Subject Content 53.1 Unit 1 LTA1A, LTA1B or LTA1C Texts in Context 7

3.2 Unit 2 LITA2 Creative Study 8

3.3 Unit 3 LITA3 Reading for Meaning 12

3.4 Unit 4 LITA4 Extended Essay and Shakespeare Study 13

3.5 Wider Reading 16

4 SchemeofAssessment 254.1 Aims 25

4.2 Assessment Objectives 25

4.3 National Criteria 26

4.4 Prior Learning 26

4.5 Synoptic Assessment and Stretch and Challenge 27

4.6 Access to Assessment for Disabled Students 27

5 Administration 285.1 Availability of Assessment Units and Certication 28

5.2 Entries 28

5.3 Private Candidates 28

5.4 Access Arrangements and Special Consideration 29

5.5 Language of Examinations 29

5.6 Qualication Titles 29

5.7 Awarding Grades and Reporting Results 29

5.8 Re-sits and Shelf-life of Unit Results 29

6 CourseworkAdministration 306.1 Supervision and Authentication of Coursework 30

6.2 Malpractice 31

6.3 Teacher Standardisation 31

6.4 Internal Standardisation of Marking 32

6.5 Annotation of Coursework 32

6.6 Submitting Marks and Sample Work for Moderation 32

6.7 Factors Affecting Individual Candidates 32

6.8 Retaining Evidence and Re-using Marks 32

7 Moderation 337.1 Moderation Procedures 33

7.2 Post-moderation Procedures 33

Appendices 34A Performance Descriptions 34

B Spiritual, Moral, Ethical, Social and other Issues 37

C Overlaps with other Qualications 38

D Key Skills - Teaching, Developing and Providing Opportunities for 39

Generating Evidence

Vertical black lines indicate a signicant change or addition to the previous version of this specication.

Contents


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1 Introduction

1.1 Why choose AQA?

Its a fact that AQA is the UKs favourite examboard and more students receive their academicqualications from AQA than from any other board.But why does AQA continue to be so popular?

SpecicationsOurs are designed to the highest standards,so teachers, students and their parents canbe condent that an AQA award provides anaccurate measure of a students achievements.And the assessment structures have beendesigned to achieve a balance between rigour,

reliability and demands on candidates.

SupportAQA runs the most extensive programme ofsupport meetings; free of charge in the rst yearsof a new specication and at a very reasonablecost thereafter. These support meetings explainthe specication and suggest practical teachingstrategies and approaches that really work.

ServiceWe are committed to providing an efcient andeffective service and we are at the end of thephone when you need to speak to a person aboutan important issue. We will always try to resolveissues the rst time you contact us but, shouldthat not be possible, we will always come backto you (by telephone, email or letter) and keepworking with you to nd the solution.

EthicsAQA is a registered charity. We have noshareholders to pay. We exist solely for the goodof education in the UK. Any surplus income isploughed back into educational research and ourservice to you, our customers. We dont protfrom education, you do.

If you are an existing customer then we thank you foryour support. If you are thinking of moving to AQAthen we look forward to welcoming you.

1.2 Why choose English Literature A?The new English Literature A specicationencourages students to develop interest in andenjoyment of English Literature, through readingwidely, critically and independently, across centuries,genre and gender, and through experience of anextensive range of views about texts and how to readthem.

The new specication offers continuity from theprevious 6 unit specication through:

its clear philosophy of reading and meaning

emphasis on the development of the informed,independent reader of literary texts through acourse of wide and close reading

the centrality of the unprepared text as the testof the candidates ability to synthesise the keyknowledge, understanding and skills of the course

linking, connecting and comparing a wide rangeof whole texts and extracts as in the previoussynoptic unit

the consortium network.

In addition the specication offers the following forcandidates and their teachers:

delivering as much choice as possible for teachersand candidates by offering 3 optional areas ofstudy at AS where texts are grouped coherently

opportunity for coursework and open bookexaminations, to promote research and closefocus on specic texts

accessibility to the full ability range within AS/A2

clear development from AS to A2 and clearconnections between AS and A2.

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1.3 How do I start using this specication?

AlreadyusingtheexistingAQAEnglishLiteratureAspecication?

Register to receive further information, such asmark schemes, past question papers, details ofteacher support meetings, etc, athttp://www.aqa.org.uk/rn/askaqa.php.Information will be available electronically or inprint, for your convenience.

Tell us that you intend to enter candidates. Thenwe can make sure that you receive all the materialyou need for the examinations. This is particularly

important where examination material is issuedbefore the nal entry deadline. You can let usknow by completing the appropriate Intention toEnter and Estimated Entry forms. We will sendcopies to your Exams Ofcer and they are alsoavailable on our website(http://www.aqa.org.uk/admin/p_entries.

html).

Request permission to join a local consortium bycontacting the subject department [email protected].

NotusingtheAQAspecicationcurrently?

Almost all centres in England and Wales use AQAor have used AQA in the past and are approvedAQA centres. A small minority are not. If yourcentre is new to AQA, please contact our centreapproval team [email protected].

.

1.4 How can I nd out more?

AskAQA

You have 24-hour access to useful information andanswers to the most commonly-asked questions athttp://www.aqa.org.uk/rn/askaqa.php

If the answer to your question is not available,you can submit a query for our team. Our targetresponse time is one day.

TeacherSupport

Details of the full range of current Teacher Supportmeetings are available on our website athttp://www.aqa.org.uk/support/teachers.html

There is also a link to our fast and convenient onlinebooking system for Teacher Support meetings athttp://events.aqa.org.uk/ebooking

If you need to contact the Teacher Support team,you can call us on 01483 477860 or email us [email protected]


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2 Specication at a Glance

+AS A2 = ALevel

2

AS Examinations

Unit 1 LTA1Texts in Context

60% of AS, 30% of A Level2 hour written examination (open book)90 marks

Either LTA1A Victorian Literatureor LTA1B World War One Literatureor LTA1C The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature

Available January and June

Unit 2 LITA2Creative Study

40% of AS, 20% of A LevelCoursework60 marks

Two tasks: one on prose text and one on drama text.2000-2500 words in total.


A2 Examinations

Unit 3 LITA3Reading for Meaning

30% of A Level2 hour 30 minutes written examination (closed book)80 marks

Two questions involving unprepared extracts and wider reeading on the unit theme ofLove Through the Ages.


Unit 4 LITA4Extended Essay and Shakespeare Study

20% of A LevelCoursework

70 marksExtended comparative essay of 3000 words.


AS

Award1741

A2Award

2741


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3 Subject Content

3

Wider reading will involve the reading of at least threewhole texts and may be supported by the reading

of relevant extracts and shorter pieces of writing.Candidates should not offer a text which they havepreviously studied at Key Stage 3 or 4. Suggestedtexts for wider reading are provided for each option inSection 3.5.

This specication has a clear philosophy of readingand meaning, and aims to encourage a candidateto develop as an informed, independent reader andcritic of literary texts. S/he will achieve this through acourse of close and wide reading.

An informed, independent reader builds a reading ofa text through:

careful and close reading of a text which yieldsappropriate and specic textual evidence

consideration and understanding of other readings

research into the contexts of both reading andwriting.

The specication aims to develop the candidate asan informed, independent reader who comes to anunderstanding of meaning through close study ofthe primary text: it also relies on knowledge of thecontext of the text and of other possible meanings.This is a specication which provides the reader withmaximum opportunities for both coursework and

open text examination papers. Such opportunitiespromote research on the one hand and close focuson specic parts of a text on the other.

Candidates need to be actively engaged with texts inorder to develop informed personal responses to their

texts.

Denitions of both reading and meaning underpin thespecication and how it should be approached.

Reading:

is an active process: the reader is an activecreator, not a passive recipient of second handopinion

can never be innocent: all readings arehistorically, socially and individually specic

is not a single skill: some kinds of reading aremore demanding than others.

Meaning:

for an individual reader, depends as much on whatis brought to the text as upon what is containedwithin it

will not necessarily be instantly accessible

will be different on different occasions, andchangeable as a result of discussion and reection

can be multiple: different readings of a text canco-exist.

The specication offers teachers the exibility to create a coherent course of study for their students. At ASthere are three alternative areas of study to choose from.

Either Option A Victorian Literature

or Option B World War One Literature

or Option C The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature

AS Requirements/ Creating the AS Course

At AS, candidates should study six texts; three for close study and three for wider reading, as shown below.

Unit 1 Unit 2

Set text Wider reading Set text Wider reading

1 poetry 1 poetry

1 drama

1 prose

1 drama

1 prose

None required but may

use Unit 1 drama widerreading text(s)

1 of the above must be written between 1800 and 1945

1 of the above must be written post-1990 (should link to Victorian Literature option by theme, setting,etc.)

1 of the above may be non-ction, literary criticism or cultural commentary

1 of the above may be literature in translation


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AS

Aims

The aims of this AS course are:

to encourage literary study within a coherentcontextual framework

to introduce candidates to all three genres withinthe shared context through a combination of closeand wide reading

to consider how readers responses are shapedby the context, by writers choices and by otherreaders interpretations

to develop independent, individual interests within

the shared context

to lay a rm foundation for deeper study at A2.

Routes through the AS Options

The philosophy of the AS specication is to integrateclose and wide reading of a range of texts between1800 and the present day across different genres,gender, culture, setting and place. The shared contextprovides a meaningful overview for candidates of allabilities.

Consideration of the lists of set texts for examination,suggested texts for coursework and the widerreading lists demonstrate the opportunities for agreat deal of teacher and candidate freedom andseveral ways to meet the criteria of the course. Thecriteria governing time of composition (one text mustbe written after 1990 and one between 1800 and1945) ensures that the candidates travel across acentury whichever option they choose. The Victoriansoption features novels and drama from currentliterature which is contrasted and illuminated by theiropposite number from the nineteenth century andalso examples of translated seminal writers like Ibsen.The World War One option includes poetry as farapart as Brooke, Larkin and Sheers, offers detailed

study of womens war writing across the century andprovides examples of European texts. The Strugglefor Identity in Modern Literature encompasses writingfrom the turn of the century in Robert Tressells noveland provides opportunities for study of all genresfrom the 1930s as well as a concentration of utterlycontemporary and international literature written inEnglish.

The three options at AS will not change for ve years.

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3.1 Unit 1 LTA1 Texts in Context

Introduction

The aim of this unit is to encourage:

wide reading within the chosen option. This willbe across all three genres, across time and acrossgenders

close reading of a poetry text.

The context question in Unit 1 is central to the wholeAS course. It invites candidates to use appropriatereferences to their reading for the whole course intheir response to a short, unprepared non-ctionprose extract, synthesising their knowledge andunderstanding of their wide reading within the sharedcontext. Learning how to apply these skills to anunprepared text provides an appropriate foundationfor the skills required in Unit 3 of A2.

Content

Candidates will choose one of the following options:

Victorian Literature (LTA1A)

World War One Literature (LTA1B)

The Struggle for Identity in ModernLiterature (LTA1C)

This unit will examine one set poetry text chosenfrom the list below and three texts covering all threegenres as wider reading. These three texts may besupplemented with a collection of relevant extractsand shorter pieces of writing.

Suggested texts for wider reading are providedfor each option at the end of Section 3 in thisspecication. Alternative texts may be used for widerreading, with the prior approval of the consortiumadviser.

SetTexts

(each text is followed by the date of its lastexamination. Set texts in their nal year of examinationwill have a resit opportunity in January 2013)

(* denotes post-1990)

OptionA VictorianLiterature

Poetry

Choose one of:

Selected Poems John Clare (Everyman)(2014)

Selected Poems The Bronts ed. Norris (Everyman)(2014)

Selected Poems Thomas Hardy ed. Page (Everyman)(2012)

OptionB WorldWarOneLiterature

Poetry

Choose one of:

Up the Line to Death ed. Gardner (Methuen)(2012)

Scars Upon My Heart ed. Reilly (Virago)(2014)

The Oxford Book of War ed. Stallworthy

Poetry: (Oxford) pp.160 225(2014)

OptionC TheStruggleforIdentityin ModernLiterature

Poetry

Choose one of:

And Still I Rise Maya Angelou (Virago)(2014)

The Worlds Wife* Carol Ann Duffy (Picador)(2012)

Skirrid Hill* Owen Sheers (Seren)(2014)

The examination

The examination will take the form of a 2 hourexamination paper. The paper will consist of twosections and candidates will answer one questionin each section. The paper will be marked out of 90.Candidates may bring their set poetry text into theexamination room. This text should be a clean text,that is, free from annotation.

Section A Contextual Linking 45 marks

There will be one compulsory question in this section.

A short extract related to the area of study (froma work of criticism, diary, letter, biography, culturalcommentary, for example) will be printed. Candidateswill then be invited to link all their reading in theirchosen area of Literature to the focus of the givenpassage.

Section B Poetry 45 marks

There will be a choice of two questions on each setpoetry text. Candidates answer one question. One ofthe two questions will foreground one particular poemand its relation to the whole text, the other will providea view about the poems for candidates to discuss.

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3.2 Unit 2 LITA2 Creative Study

Introduction

In Unit 2 as in Unit 1, candidates and teacherschoose texts within the chosen option. The two textschosen for study in this unit form part of a coherentselection of texts. They may also be used in theresponse to question 1 on Unit 1. Similarly, widerreading in drama may be used in the courseworkdrama task.

In this unit, candidates will have opportunitiesfor the exploration of creative interpretations, fortransformational writing, and for tracing connections

between texts.

Content

This unit is assessed by means of a courseworkportfolio. Candidates should select one prose textand one drama text. The coursework folder willcontain two pieces of writing; one will be on theselected prose text and the other will be on theselected drama text. The two pieces of work shouldbe 2000-2500 words in total. The texts should bechosen from the list below. Alternative texts maybe used with the prior approval of the consortiumadviser.

Text choices (which will last for the life of the option)are:


A VictorianLiterature

Prose

Charlotte Bront Jane Eyre

Emily Bront Wuthering Heights

A.S. Byatt Possession *

Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness

Charles Dickens Hard TimesGeorge Eliot Middlemarch

John Fowles The French LieutenantsWoman

Thomas Hardy Tess of the DUrbervilles

Matthew Kneale English Passengers *

Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

J. G. Farrell The Siege of Krishnapur

Drama

Oscar Wilde A Woman of NoImportance

Henrik Ibsen (ed. Watts) A Dolls House

Tom Stoppard Arcadia *

B WorldWarOneLiterature

Prose

Susan Hill Strange Meeting

Sebastian Faulks Birdsong *

Pat Barker Regeneration *

Pat Barker The Eye in the Door*

Pat Barker The Ghost Road*

Frederic Manning Her Privates We

Sebastian Barry A Long, Long Way*

Siegfried Sassoon Memoirs of an InfantryOfficer

Helen Zenna Smith Not So Quiet

Rebecca West Return of the Soldier

Drama

R.C. Sherriff Journeys End

Peter Whelan The Accrington Pals

Stephen MacDonald Not About Heroes

C TheStruggleforIdentityinModern Literature

Prose

Margaret Atwood The Handmaids Tale

Angela Carter Wise Children *

Kiran Desai Hullaballoo in theGuava Orchard*

Roddy Doyle The Woman WhoWalked into Doors *

Michael Frayn Spies *

David Guterson Snow Falling on Cedars *

Jackie Kay Trumpet*

Toni Morrison Beloved*

D.B.C. Pierre Vernon God Little *

Alice Walker The Color Purple

Drama

Caryl Churchill Top Girls

Brian Friel Making History

Wole Soyinka Death and the KingsHorseman

The coursework folder will consist of two pieces of

work, of 2000-2500 words in total, as follows.

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The rst piece of writing in the folder will focus on apersonal, informed response to the prose text, andwill be:

Either a. creative (as in personal/original)interpretation

Or b. creative/transformational writing30 marks

Examplesofcourseworktasks-ProseText

Option - The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature

Text The Handmaids Tale

a) How does Atwoods way of structuring TheHandmaids Tale affect your interpretation of thenovel?

b) Write Serena Joys account of The Ceremony,creating Serena Joys voice, capturing Atwoodsstyle and tone and building on Atwoodsrealisation of the character.

The second piece of writing in the folder will be onthe chosen drama text. Candidates will be invitedeither to place this text in its dramatic context or toconnect it to the prose text, focusing on aspects ofthe text such as theme, structure or characterisation.

30 marks

ExamplesofcourseworktasksDrama

TextOption World War One Literature

Text - Journeys End

Explore the ways Sherriff uses setting inJourneysEndfor dramatic effect.

Then, either:

compare the waysJourneys Endand other WorldWar One plays you have read use settings

or

compare the ways Sherriff uses setting inJourneys Endwith the ways Barker uses the

enclosed environment of Craiglockhart Hospital inRegeneration.

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CourseworkGuidance

Support and guidance with this coursework unit is available from the consortium adviser. Please see Section 6of this specication.


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AssessmentCriteriaforUnit2

A01 A02 A03 A04

Articulate creative,informed andrelevant responsesto literary texts,using appropriateterminology andconcepts, andcoherent, accuratewritten expression

Demonstrate detailedcritical understandingin analysing the waysin which structure,form and languageshape meanings inliterary texts

Explore connectionsand comparisonsbetween differentliterary texts, informedby interpretations ofother readers

Demonstrateunderstanding ofthe signicanceand inuence of thecontexts in whichliterary texts arewritten and received

Band 1

0 - 7

Candidatescharacteristically:

a communicatelimited knowledgeand understandingof literary texts

b. make few usesof appropriateterminology orexamples tosupport theirinterpretations

c. attempt tocommunicatemeaning byusing inaccuratelanguage.


a. identify few aspectsof structure, formand language

b. assert someaspects withreference tohow they shapemeaning

c. make limitedreferences to texts.


a. make few linksand connectionsbetween literarytexts

b. reect the viewsexpressed in otherinterpretations ofliterary texts in alimited way.


a. communicatelimitedunderstanding ofcontext throughdescription ofculture, text type,literary genre orhistorical period.

Band 2

8 - 15


a. communicatesome basicknowledge andunderstanding ofliterary texts

b. make simple useof appropriateterminology or

examples tosupport theirinterpretations

c. communicatemeaning usingstraightforwardlanguage.


a. identify obviousaspects ofstructure, form andlanguage

b. describe someaspects withreference tohow they shape

meaningc. make related

references to texts.


a. makestraightforwardlinks andconnectionsbetween literarytexts

b. reect viewsexpressed in other

interpretations ofliterary texts in abasic way.


a. communicatesome basicunderstanding ofcontext throughdescription ofculture, text type,literary genre orhistorical period.

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A01 A02 A03 A04





Band 3

16 - 23


a. communicaterelevant knowledgeand understandingof literary texts

b. present relevantresponses usingappropriateterminology tosupport informedinterpretations

c. structure andorganise theirwriting

d. communicatecontent andmeaning throughexpressive andaccurate writing.


a. identify relevantaspects of form,

structure andlanguage in literarytexts

b. explore howwriters use specicaspects to shapemeaning

c. use specicreferences to textsto support theirresponses.


a. explore linksand connections

between literarytexts

b. communicateunderstanding ofviews expressedin differentinterpretations orreadings.


a. communicateunderstanding of

the relationshipsbetween literarytexts and theircontexts

b. commentappropriately onthe inuence ofculture, text type,literary genre orhistorical periodon ways in whichliterary texts werewritten and were

and are - received.

Band 4

24 - 30


a. communicaterelevant knowledgeand understandingof literary texts withcondence

b. present relevant,well-informedresponses, uentlyusing appropriateterminology tosupport informedinterpretations

c. structure andorganise theirwriting in a cogentmanner

d. communicatecontent and

meaning throughsophisticated andmature writing.


a. identify relevantaspects of form,structure andlanguage in literarytexts with insight

b. condently explore

how writers usespecic aspects toshape meaning

c. show a mastery ofdetail in their use ofspecic referencesto texts to supporttheir responses.


a. explore linksand connectionsbetween literarytexts withcondence

b. communicate

understandingof the viewsexpressedin differentinterpretationsor readingsin a mature,sophisticatedmanner.


a. communicatea matureunderstanding ofthe relationshipsbetween literarytexts and theircontexts

b. comment in asophisticatedmanner on theinuence of culture,text type, literarygenre or historicalperiod on the waysin which literarytexts were writtenand were andare- received.

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A2

Introduction

At AS, candidates have been introduced to bothclose and wide reading across genres and genderwithin a dened contextual framework.

The A2 course builds on this foundation and bothwidens and deepens students literary studies by:

moving from a dened area of study to the wholeof English Literature from Chaucer to the presentday

developing the informed autonomous reader byproviding maximum opportunities for choice and

the development of students own interests.

ConstructingtheA2Course

The requirements for all A2 specications in Literatureare that candidates will study six texts covering allthree genres.

At A2, as at AS, teachers have the freedom to makeappropriate choices of texts for both units at A2in order to construct a coherent course of study.Teachers have the option of linking Units 3 and 4thematically.

Unit 3 has the theme Love through the Ages asits focus. In order to prepare candidates for theexamination, teachers need to construct a courseof reading and study which spans the centuries andexplores the theme as it is expressed through allgenres and by both genders. The examination paperwill consist of unprepared texts, thematically grouped.Skills of close reading and analysis, interpretation,comparison and the ability to evaluate the inuence ofvarious contextual factors will be assessed.

For Unit 4 (coursework) teachers will help candidatesto select three texts with a shared theme. One textwill be a Shakespeare play; the other two texts will bewider reading texts of any genre. Candidates will writean extended comparative essay on the three texts.

3.3 Unit 3 LITA3 Reading for Meaning

Introduction

This nal A2 examination synthesises the skills andlearning of the whole course. In the examination,candidates will study closely unprepared texts fromall genres, chosen across time and linked by theme.They will compare the extracts in terms of subjectmatter and style, reaching out to their wider readingto inform their judgements about:

the ways different writers at different timesapproach the chosen theme

the ways different readers interpret texts.

Content

Candidates should read at least three texts in orderto prepare for a paper which will contain unpreparedpassages for close study, comparison and criticalcommentary.

The topic for this unit is Love Through the Ages.Love will include romantic love but will not berestricted to that single denition. The topic will notchange for at least ve years and two years noticewill be given to centres of any change.

Candidates reading in the literature of love shouldinclude:

the three genres of prose, poetry and drama

literature written by both men and women

literature through time (from Chaucer to thepresent day)

some non-ction texts.

Theexamination

The examination will take the form of a 2 hourwritten examination. The paper will contain fourunseen items. There will be two compulsoryquestions to answer. Each question will be marked

out of 40.

Question 1 will require candidates to compare twoitems of the same genre. The genre may changewith each examination series. This question willrequire the close reading of the texts as well asreference to wider reading on the theme of love withinthe same genre as the items.

Question 2 will invite candidates to compare twoitems (of the remaining two genres). Candidates willuse their wider reading on the theme of love throughliterature to inform their interpretations.

Notes

Chaucer will not be set as an item in the examination.

In total, across both questions, candidates will haveto write about a minimum of one wider reading textfrom each of the three genres of poetry, prose anddrama.

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3.4 Unit4 LITA4 Extended Essay and Shakespeare Study

Introduction

For this unit teachers have the freedom to createa course of study which will be assessed bycoursework. The unit will encourage reection onways of reading and writing about texts (includingcreative or original interpretations).

In their coursework candidates will have theopportunity to write a sustained comparative essayon three texts of their own choice linked by eitherthe theme of Love Through the Ages or by a themeof their own choice. This represents increased

demand, development and progress from the AScoursework. Candidates will build upon their priorknowledge of Shakespeare from GCSE as well as ontheir explorations of the dramatic genre in their AScoursework.

Content

This unit is assessed by means of a courseworkportfolio. Candidates should select three texts. Onetext will be any Shakespeare play. The other twotexts, for comparison, will be of any genre. None ofthe texts should have been studied at AS.

The coursework folder will consist of one extended

comparative essay as follows.

The extended essay 70 marks

The extended essay will provide opportunities forcandidates to write at length (about 3000 words)and to develop their research skills, drafting and re-drafting their work as appropriate.

The texts will be chosen by the teacher andcandidate to reect a shared theme. Choices of textsand tasks will be made by the teacher and candidate,subject to the approval of the consortium adviser.

The tasks must reect the relevant AssessmentObjectives and will focus on:

comparison

appreciation of writers choices of form, structureand language

exploration of their own and other readersinterpretations

some understanding of the signicance ofcontext.

Candidates need to remember that they are writing aliterary essay, and will show through the comparativetask that they:

understand the content of all three texts

analyse the different ways the writers present theirsubject matter and ideas

hold informed independent views about the texts,and can consider and use other readers views todevelop their own

are aware of the usefulness of relevant contextualinformation to their interpretations.

Choosing appropriate texts is therefore very important texts which not only enable the candidate todiscuss plot, characters and themes, but also provideopportunities to explore and comment on:

the writers styles and techniques

choices of genre different narrative techniques

individual choices of language and their effects

the different ways writers structure ideas anddevelop similar themes.

Examples of choices of coursework texts andpossible connections

1. Texts sharing the theme ofLove Through the

Ages

The presentation of marriage in Much Ado AboutNothing, Brick Lane and Emma

The presentation of passion inAntony andCleopatra, Birthday Letters and Wuthering Heights

The presentation of the consequences of lovein Romeo and Juliet, Brownings DramaticMonologues and Enduring Love

2. Texts sharing a different theme somesuggestions

The theme of Minds Under Stress: texts Hamlet,The Bell Jar, and One Flew Over the CuckoosNest

The theme of Relationships between parents and

children: texts The Tempest or King Lear, Weneed to Talk about Kevin, and The Wasp Factory

The theme of Responses to death: texts Hamlet,The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud, and TheLovely Bones

The theme of Society and its values: texts TheMerchant of Venice, The Crucible and The ScarletLetter

The theme of The Lear Story: texts King Lear,Bonds LearandA Thousand Acres

Coursework Guidance

Support and guidance with this coursework unit isavailable from the consortium adviser. Please seeSection 6 of this specication.

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A01 A02 A03 A04





Band 3

36- 54


a. communicaterelevant knowledge

and understandingof literary texts

b. present relevantresponses usingappropriateterminology andexamples tosupport informedinterpretations

c. structure andorganise theirincreasinglycoherent writing

d. communicatecontent andmeaning throughexpressive andaccurate writing.


a. identify relevantaspects of form,

structure andlanguage in literarytexts

b. explore howwriters use specicaspects to shapemeaning

c. refer to relevanttexts and sourcesto support theirresponses.


a. explore linksand connections

between literarytexts in asystematic way

b. show clearunderstandingof viewsexpressed in otherinterpretations orreadings.


a. communicateunderstanding

of relationshipsbetween specicliterary texts andcontexts

b. evaluate theinuence of culture,text type, literarygenre or historicalperiod on the waysin which literarytexts were writtenand were and are received.

Band 4

55 70


a. communicatedetailed knowledgeand understandingof literary texts

b. create and sustain

well organisedand coherentarguments, usingappropriateterminology tosupport informedinterpretations

c. structure andorganise theirwriting using anappropriate criticalregister

d. communicate

content andmeaning throughsophisticated,cogent andcoherent writing.


a. identify signicantaspects ofstructure, form andlanguage in literarytexts

b. condently explorethrough detailedand sophisticatedcritical analysis howwriters use theseaspects to createmeaning

c. make detailedreference to textsand sources tosupport theirresponses.


a. analyse andevaluateconnectionsor points ofcomparisonbetween literary

texts

b. engage sensitivelyand with mature,informedunderstanding todifferent readingsand interpretations.


a. explore andanalyse thesignicance ofthe relationshipsbetweenspecic literary

texts and theircontexts, makingsophisticatedcomparisons

b. evaluate theinuence of culture,text type, literarygenre or historicalperiod on the waysin which literarytexts were writtenand were and are- received.

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TEXTSFORWIDERREADINGINUNITONE

There follow suggestions for nding material to support the chosen option for Unit 1. The lists have beencompiled to include reading across genre, texts in translation and non-ction texts.

Candidates are required to choose at least three texts covering all three genres.

(Set texts listed in Section 3 which have not been selected for study may be chosen as wider

reading)

OptionA VictorianLiterature


PROSE FICTION

Peter Ackroyd

Beryl Bainbridge

Arnold Bennett

Andrew Drummond

Elizabeth Gaskell

G. & W. Grossmith

Michael Redhill

Herman Melville

William Morris

Robert Louis Stevenson

PROSE NON-FICTION

Victorian non-ction

Matthew Arnold

Thomas Carlyle

John Clare

Elizabeth Gaskell

Edmund GosseMarx and Engels

John Ruskin

The Bronts

Henry Thoreau

Oscar Wilde

Modern non-ction

Peter Ackroyd

Juliet Barker

Jonathan Bate

Quentin Bell

Winston Churchill

Any of the ten named prose texts for Unit 2, or any other novel byDickens, Eliot, Hardy or the Bronts.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

Master Georgie * (1998)

Anna of the Five Towns (1902)

An Abridged History* (2004)

Mary Barton (1848)

The Diary of a Nobody(1892)

Consolation * (2006)

Redburn (1849)

News from Nowhere (1891)

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)

Culture and Anarchy(1869)

Selected Writings (Penguin)

Selected Letters (OUP)

The Life of Charlotte Bront (1857)

Father and Son (1907)The Communist Manifesto (1848)

Selected Writings (Penguin)

A Life in Letters (ed. Barker)

Walden (1854)

De Profundis (1905)

Dickens * (1990)

The Bronts * (1994)

John Clare * (2003)

A New and Noble School(1982)

My Early Life (1930)

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3.5 Wider Reading


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Terry Eagleton

Richard EllmanLytton Strachey

Kate Summerscale

Claire Tomalin

DRAMA

Anonymous

J.M. Barrie

Dion Boucicault

John Walker

Brian Friel

Patrick Hamilton

David Hare

Arthur Wing Pinero

Harold Pinter

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

Tom Stoppard

Tom Taylor

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

POETRY

Matthew Arnold

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Robert Browning

Arthur Clough

Emily Dickinson

Gerald Manley Hopkins

A.E. Housman

George Meredith

Christina Rossetti

Algernon Swinburne

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Walt Whitman

Heathcliff and the Great Hunger* (1996)

Oscar Wilde (1988)Eminent Victorians (1918)

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher* (2008)

Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man * (2006)

Maria Marten, or Murder in the Red Barn (1840)

The Admirable Crichton (1902)

The Streets of London (1864)

The Factory Lad(1825)

The Home Place *(2005)

Gaslight(1939)

The Judas Kiss *(1998)

The Second Mrs Tanqueray(1893)

The French Lieutenants Woman (screenplay) (1981)

Mrs Warrens Profession (1894

Arms and the Man (1898)

The Invention of Love *(1997)

The Ticket-of-Leave Man (1863)

Lady Windermeres Fan (1892)An Ideal Husband(1895)

The Importance of Being Earnest(1895)

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TEXTS IN TRANSLATION

Anton Chekhov

Feodor Dostoevsky

Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert

Nikolai Gogol

Henrik Ibsen

August Strindberg

Leo Tolstoy

Emile Zola

Emile Zola

Uncle Vanya (1897)

Crime and Punishment(1866)

Madame Bovary(1857)

Sentimental Education (1869)

The Government Inspector(1836)

An Enemy of the People (1882)

Miss Julie (1888)

Anna Karenina (1875)

Germinal(1885)

La Bte Humaine (1890)

OPTIONB WORLDWARONELITERATURE

(* denotes post 1990)

PROSE FICTION

Any of the 10 named texts for Unit 2

Ben Elton The First Casualty* (Bantam, 2005)

Adam Thorpe Nineteen Twenty-One * (Vintage, 2001)

Irene Rathbone We That Were Young (1932)

Virginia Woolf Jacobs Room (1921)

Ford Maddox Ford Parades End(1924-28)

Hemingway A Farewell to Arms (1929)

PROSE NON-FICTION

Memoirs

Robert Graves Goodbye to All That(Penguin, 1929)

Edmund Blunden Undertones of War(Penguin, 1928)

Vera Brittain Testament of Youth (Virago, 1933)

History and Testimony

Richard Holmes Tommy(Harper Perennial, 2005)

ed. Max Arthur Forgotten Voices (Ebury Press, 2002)

Lyn Macdonald Somme (Penguin, 1983)

Ben MacIntyre A Foreign Field(Harper Collins, 2001)

Max Arthur Last Post(Phoenix, 2005)

Correlli Barnett The Great War(BBC, 1979)

Richard Van Emden The Trench (Bantam, 2002)

Richard Van Emden Boy Soldiers of the Great War(Headline, 2006)

Allison and Fairley The Monocled Mutineer(Quartet Books, 1978)

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Diaries, Letters and Biography

ed. Bishop Chronicle of Youth (Vera Brittains War Diary) (Gollancz, 1981)Ed. Bishop and Bostridge Letters from a Lost Generation (Abacus, 1998)

Palmer and Wallis A War in Words (Pocket Books, 2003)

Michael Walsh Brothers in War(Ebury Press, 2006)

(Bodleian Library A Month at the Front, Diary of anUniversity of Oxford, 2006) Unknown Soldier

Literary Criticism and Cultural Commentary

Paul Fussell The Great War and Modern Memory(Oxford, 1975)

Adrian Barlow The Great War in British Literature (Cambridge, 2000)

Dominic Hibberd Wilfred Owen (Weideneld andNicholson, 2002)

B. Berganzi Heroes Twilight(Constable, 1965)

Samuel Hynes A War Imagined: The First World War and English Culture (Pimlico, 1992)

Samuel Hynes The Edwardian Turn of Mind: First World War and English Culture(Pimlico, 1992)

Collections

Cardinal, Goldman and Hattaway Womens Writing on the First World War(Oxford, 1999)

ed. Marlow The Virago Book of Women and the Great War(Virago, 1999)

DRAMA

R. C. Sherriff Journeys End(Heinemann, 1928)

Peter Whelan The Accrington Pals (Methuen, 1982)

Stephen MacDonald Not About Heroes (Faber, 1982)

Joan Littlewood Oh! What a Lovely War(Methuen, 1965)

Curtis, Elton, etc Blackadder Goes Forth (Penguin, 1989)

Alan Bleasdale The Monocled Mutineer(Hutchinson, 1986)

Nick Whitby To the Green Fields and Beyond* (Faber, 2000)

G.B. Shaw Heartbreak House (1919)

G.B. Shaw OFlaherty V.C. (1915)

Somerset Maugham For Services Rendered(1932)

Malleson Black ell(1916)

F. McGuinness Observe the Sons of Ulster marching Towards the Somme (Faber, 1986)

Sean OCasey The Silver Tassie (1929)

POETRY

Giddings The War Poets (Bloomsbury, 1988)

ed. Catherine Reilly Scars Upon My Heart (Virago, 1981)

ed. Jon Stallworthy War Poetry (Oxford, 1984)

Christopher Martin War Poems (Collins Educational, 1990)

ed. Jon Silkin Men Who March Away (ed. Parsons, 1965)

various The Wordsworth Book of First World War Poetry(Wordsworth editions, 1995)

ed. Noakes Voices of Silence (The Alternative Book of 1st World War Poetry) (Sutton, 2006)

Rita Dove American Smooth * (Not Welcome Here Section) (Norton, 2004)ed. George Walter The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry(Penguin, 2006)

ed. Martin Stephen Never Such Innocence (Everyman, 1993)

ed. Dominic Hibberd The Winter of the World(Constable, 2008)

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PROSE FICTION

Chinua Achebe

James Baldwin

Nadine Gordimer

Radclyffe Hall

Zora Neale Hurston

Andrea Levy

Patrick McCabe

Anne Michaels

Arundhati Roy

Robert Tressell

Irvine Welsh

Jeanette Winterson

Richard Wright

Kurt Vonnegut

Rose Tremain

Kathryn Stockett

PROSE NON-FICTION

Autobiographies and

Biography, Diaries

Maya Angelou

Diana Souhami

Nelson Mandela

Memoirs and Interviews

Silvia Calamati

Bobby Sands

Malcolm X

Alice Walker

Travelogues

Salman Rushdie

Any of the ten named prose texts for Unit 2, or any other novel by Morrison.

Things Fall Apart(Penguin, 1958)

Go Tell it on the Mountain (Penguin)

Julys People (Bloomsbury, 1981)

The Well of Loneliness + (Virago, 1928)

Their Eyes Were Watching God+ (Virago, 1937)

Small Island* (Headline, 2004)

Breakfast on Pluto * (Picador, 1998)

Fugitive Pieces * (Bloomsbury, 1996)

The God of Small Things * (Harper Perennial, 1997)

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists + (Flamingo, 1914)

Trainspotting * (Vintage, 1993)

Oranges are not the only fruit (Vintage, 1984)

Native Son + (Vintage, 1940)

Slaughterhouse 5 (Vintage, 1969)

The Road Home (Chatto and Windus)

The Help (Penguin, 2009)

Autobiography, especially I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Virago, 1969)

The Trials of Radclyffe Hall* (Virago, 1999)

Long Walk to Freedom (Abacus, 1994)

Womens stories from the North of Ireland* (Beyond the PalePublications, 2002)

Skylark Sing Your Lonely Song (Mercier Press, 1982)

Malcolm X Talks to Young People (Pathnder, 1964-1965)

The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult* (Phoenix, 1996)

The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey(Vintage, 1987)


Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front(Vintage, 1929)

Dugain The Officers Ward * (Phoenix House, 1999)

Palmer and Wallis A War in Words (2003)

Cardinal etc Womens Writing on the First World War * (OUP, 1999)

Barbusse Under Fire (Penguin,1916)

Ernst Junger Storm of Steel(Penguin, 1920)

OPTIONC TheStruggleforIdentityinModernLiterature

(* denotes text published after 1990)

(+ denotes text published between 1800-1945)

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3

History and cultural

commentary, essays andspeeches

David Beresford

Beverley Bryan, Suzanne Scafe,Stella Dadzie

Germaine Greer

Martin Luther King Jr.

Adhaf Soueif

Amrit Wilson

Laws

Parliament

Literary Criticism

Ralph Ellison

Dolly A. McPherson

Kate Millet

Amrit Wilson

Richard Wright

Jeremy Hawthorn ed.

DRAMA

Brendan Behan

Sudhar Bhuchar

Jim Cartwright

Caryl Churchill

Claire Dowie

Brian Friel

Lorraine Hansberry

Sarah Kane

Tony Kushner

Martin McDonagh

Sean OCasey

Arthur Miller

Mark Ravenhill

Ntozake Shange

Timberlake Wertenbaker

Tennessee Williams

International Connections(contributor Jackie Kay)

Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike (Harper Collins,1987)

The Heart of the Race (Virago, 1985)

The Female Eunuch (Harper Perennial, 1970)

I Have A Dream: Writings And Speeches That Changed The World(Harper, 1956-68)

Mezzaterra-Fragments from the Common Ground* (Bloomsbury, 2004)

Dreams, Questions, Struggles South Asian Women in Britain

(Pluto Press, 2006)

Section 28 of the Education Act 1988

Shadow and Act(Vintage, 1967)

Order out of Chaos: The Autobiographical Works of Maya Angelou(Virago, 1990)

Sexual Politics (Virago, 1977)

Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain (Virago, 1978)

Blueprint for Negro Writing + (1937)

The British Working Class Novel in the Twentieth Century(Hodder Arnold,1984)

The Hostage (Methuen, 1958)

Child of the Divide *(Methuen Modern Plays)

Road(Methuen Modern Plays, 1986)

All plays * (some will be post 1990)

Why is John Lennon Wearing a Skirt? *(Methuen Modern Plays, 1996)

Dancing at Lughnasa * (Faber, 1990)

A Raisin in the Sun (Methuen Modern Plays, 1959)

Complete Plays *(Methuen Drama, 1998-2006)

Angels in America * (Nick Herne Books, 1992)

Beauty Queen of Leenane *(Methuen, 1996)

Three Dublin Plays: Juno and the Paycock+ (1924), The Plough and theStars +(1926), Shadow of a Gunman + (1923) (Faber)

Death of a Salesman (Penguin, 1949)

Citizenship * (Methuen Modern Plays, 2006)

Shange Plays 1- (Includes For Colored Girls Who Have ConsideredSuicide When the Rainbow is Enough)

Our Countrys Good(Methuen, 1988)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Methuen, 1947)

New Plays for Young People * (Faber 2003)


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3

POETRY

Simon ArmitageW.H Auden

Gillian Clarke

Carol Ann Duffy

Allan Ginsberg

Langston Hughes

Jackie Kay

Liz Lockhead

Audre Lorde

Grace Nichols

Adrienne Rich

Lemn Sissay

Gertrude Stein

Alice Walker

Benjamin Zephaniah

Edited by Lemn Sissay

Agnes Meadows

Gillian Clarke

Alice Oswald

Grace Nichols

Carol Ann DuffyJackie Kay

Liz Lochhead

Lenin Sissay


Novels

Isabel Allende

Alexandra Kollontai

Manuel Puig

Alexander Solzenichen

Poetry

Pablo Neruda

Drama

Bertolt Brecht

Federico Garcia Lorca

Non ction

autobiography/diary/travelogueAnne Frank

Che Guevara

Nawal al-Saadawi

Dead Sea Poems * (Faber, 1995)e.g The Quarry, Funeral Blues, Refugee Blues + (1930s)

Letter From a Far Country(1985)

The Other Country* (Anvil, 1990)

Howl(City Lights Pocket Poet Series, 1956)

Collected Poems + (Vintage, 1930-1960)

Life Mask* (Bloodaxe Books, 2005)

Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems (Polygon, 1984)

Any (some will be post 1990)

The Fat Black Womans Poems (Virago, 1984)

The School Among the Ruins *(Norton, 2004)

Morning Breaks in the Elevator*(Payback Press, 1999)

Tender Buttons +(Dover, 1914)

Revolutionary Petunias and other Poems (Harcourt Brae Jovanovitch, 1970)

Too Black, Too Strong *(Bloodaxe Books, 2001)

The Fire People: A Collection of Contemporary Black British Poets *(Payback Press, 1998)

Woman (Waterways, 2003)

A Recipe for Water(Carcaret, 2009)

The Thing in the Gap Stone Stile (Faber, 1996)

I Have Crossed an Ocean (Bloodaxe Books Ltd, 2010)

Love Poems (Picador, 2010)Darling (Bloodaxe Books Ltd, 2007)

The Colour of Black and White (Polyfon, 2003)

Rebel Without Applause (Bloodaxe Books Ltd, 1992)

The House of the Spirits (Chile/Spanish) (Black Swan, 1985)

Love of Worker Bees + (USSR/Russian) (Virago, 1930)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Argentina/Spanish) (Vintage, 1976)

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch (USSR/Russian) (Penguin, 1962)

Residence on Earth + (Chile/Spanish) (Souvenir Press, 1933)

Mother Courage and her Children + (German) (Methuen, 1940)

The House of Bernarda Alba + (1936), Yerma + (1934), Blood Wedding +(1933) (Spanish) (Penguin)

The Diary of a Young Girl (Dutch) (Penguin, 1947)

The Motorcycle Diaries (Argentina/Spanish) (Harper Perennial, 1952)

Memoirs from the Womens Prison (Egypt/Arabic) (1984)


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Exploring wider reading

Exploring wider reading is an essential part of thestudy of Literature within this specication. It is anintegral aspect of the assessment and assures theachievement of six texts at each of AS and A2 levels.

At AS, there are three set texts. The other threetexts are chosen from an extensive but focused widerreading list supplied by AQA. For each option thewider reading list is governed by two principles.

Principles of wider reading

Shared context

For each option, a shared context (AO4) links thelisted texts making connection and comparison

across genres (AO3) central and fruitful to the studyfrom the outset of the course. The shared contextwithin each option demonstrates a typicality of ideas,era and literary developments. The range and breadthof the context then allows for varied routes througheach option ensuring a high degree of choice forteachers and students alike.

Meeting key components of literary study

The wider reading list is constructed throughgenre. Candidates must, in their wider reading,study three whole texts and cover the compulsorygenres of poetry, drama and prose ction. They maysupplement this core reading with the reading ofrelevant extracts and shorter pieces of writing.

Study by extract increases the opportunities fordevelopment of multiple reading strategies, promotespersonalised learning and facilitates the scope forcandidate-focused responses. This range of readingexperiences promotes the assessment of both keyideas in AO3, comparison across texts and differentinterpretations by other readers. Exposure to morewriters is intended to increase awareness of textualcontrast and similarity, and encourage awareness ofalternative viewpoints from writers and critics alike.

Guidance on the use of extracts will be given in the

Teacher Resource material which accompaniesthis specication, by AQAs Teacher Support, in theaccompanying student text book offered on eachoption, and crucially within the specications integralconsortium network and adviser structure.

Each of these factors contributes to the core demandof close reading.

Developing close reading

Shared context

The overarching shared context for each optionfacilitates close reading and the development of closereading skills. Candidates are encouraged to respond

openly and pursue different interpretations within andacross their reading, discovering multiple meaningsto text through a process of comparison and contrast(AO3) through the philosophy of reading and meaningoutlined earlier. The framework offered by the sharedcontext gives this exploratory reading a clear focusand direction.

Meeting key components of literary study

Close reading is particularly necessary for developingskills to analyse typical and exceptional featureswithin genres and sub genres (AO2). The specicationencourages this development throughout Unit 1:

by open text examination of poetry

and by examination by contextual linking of wider

reading texts and extracts within the sharedcontext in response to an unprepared triggerextract.

The study of extracts, in addition to the three coretexts, may encourage a detailed analysis of specicliterary concerns. This could be: exegesis of subjectmatter and ideas; effects of writers choices of form,structure and language; expression of a particularaspect of the context in operation; response to orconstruction of a particular interpretation.

Advice on the teaching and development of closereading skills is set out in the Teacher Resource

material which accompanies this specication, inthe accompanying text book for each option andprovided by the teacher training and support offeredby AQA.

The relationship between close and widereading

The poetry set texts in the open text examinationin Unit 1 of each option and the suggested proseand drama texts in Unit 2 of each option assessclose reading. The question styles for the Unit 1examination and the structure of tasks for Unit 2coursework will be designed to demand a closereading of the chosen text. A thorough and detailed

knowledge of the whole text through application ofthe relevant assessment objectives for each Unit isrequired to meet the criteria of the AS course.

Examples of the development of close reading

through the specications wider reading

philosophy

The three texts assessed through wider readingare studied with the equal depth that close readingrequires and promotes. Where extracts are chosento supplement the core texts, candidates grasp of

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4.1 Aims

AS and A Level courses based on this specicationshould encourage candidates to develop their interestin and enjoyment of literature and literary studies asthey:

read widely and independently both set texts andothers that they have selected for themselves

engage creatively with a substantial body of textsand ways of responding to them

develop and effectively apply their knowledgeof literary analysis and evaluation in speech andwriting

explore the contexts of the texts they are readingand others interpretations of them

deepen their understanding of the changingtraditions of literature in English.

4 Scheme of Assessment

4.2 Assessment Objectives (AOs)

AO1 Articulate creative, informed and relevantresponses to literary texts, using appropriateterminology and concepts, and coherent,accurate written expression

AO2 Demonstrate detailed critical understandingin analysing the ways in which structure, form

and language shape meanings in literary textsAO3 Explore connections and comparisons

between different literary texts, informed byinterpretations of other readers

AO4 Demonstrate understanding of the signicanceand inuence of the contexts in which l iterarytexts are written and received

The Assessment Objectives are common to AS andA Level. The assessment units will assess thefollowing Assessment Objectives in the context ofthe content and skills set out in Section 3 (Subject

Content).

AO1 12 12 24

AO2 18 14 32

AO3 12 10 22

AO4 18 4 22

Overall weighting of units (%) 60 40 100

Assessment Objectives Unit Weightings (%) Overall Weighting of AOs (%)

Unit 1 Unit 2

WeightingofAssessmentObjectivesforAS

The table below shows the approximate weighting of each of the Assessment Objectives in the AS units.

QualityofWrittenCommunication(QWC)

In GCE specications which require candidates toproduce written material in English, candidates must:

ensure that text is legible and that spelling,punctuation and grammar are accurate so thatmeaning is clear

select and use a form and style of writingappropriate to purpose and to complex subjectmatter

organise information clearly and coherently, usingspecialist vocabulary when appropriate.

In this specication QWC will be assessed in all fourunits by means of AO1.

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4.3 National Criteria

This specication complies with the following:

The Subject Criteria for English Literature

The Code of Practice for GCE

The GCE AS and A Level Qualication Criteria

The Arrangements for the Statutory Regulationof External Qualications in England, Wales andNorthern Ireland: Common Criteria.

WeightingofAssessmentObjectivesforALevel

The table below shows the approximate weighting of each of the Assessment Objectives in the AS and A2units.

AO1 6 6 7.5 6 25.5

AO2 9 7 7.5 6 29.5

AO3 6 5 7.5 6 24.5

AO4 9 2 7.5 2 20.5

Overall weighting of units (%) 30 20 30 20 100

Assessment Objectives Unit Weightings (%) Overall Weighting of AOs (%)

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4

4.4 Prior learning

There are no prior learning requirements.

We recommend that candidates should haveacquired the skills and knowledge associated with aGCSE English Literature course or equivalent.

However, any requirements set for entry to a coursefollowing this specication are at the discretion ofcentres.

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4

4.5 Synoptic Assessment and Stretch and Challenge

Synoptic Assessment in English Literature A isassessed in the A2 units via:

1. Coursework

An extended essay requiring the selection ofappropriate texts including a Shakespeareplay; research, discussion and choice of task;organisation and planning; sustained writingand discussion of genre, context and alternativeinterpretations.

2. Examination

The questions on the Unit 3 paper require

candidates to apply their knowledge andunderstanding of literature through time (Chaucerto the present day), across genre and gender,as well as their skills of analysis, interpretation,comparison and connection and evaluation tounprepared extracts drawn from all three genresand linked by the theme of love.

Both close and wide reading are required aswell as the ability to apply knowledge andunderstanding of the contexts of literature tospecic unprepared texts.

The requirement that Stretch and Challenge isincluded at A2 is met by:

accessible questions that will be open tocandidates of all abilities but offering appropriateopportunities to the most able

the use of a variety of stems in questions explore, comment on the ways, write acomparison and consider

connectivity between sections of questions

the requirement for extended writing in allquestions and especially the extended essay in

the coursework the use of a range of question types the

comparative study in coursework as well asthe examination questions are all open answerquestions where the candidate will assembleappropriate material and structure the question.

the ways the synoptic paper (unit 3) requirescandidates to refer to and make use of knowledgeand understanding of literature across the ages,genres, and gender to support their responsesto the unprepared extracts. It also requirescandidates to use all the relevant skill areas.

4.6 Access to Assessment for Disabled Students

AS/A Levels often require assessment of a broaderrange of competences. This is because theyare general qualications and, as such, preparecandidates for a wide range of occupations andhigher level courses.

The revised AS/A Level qualication and subjectcriteria were reviewed to identify whether any of thecompetences required by the subject presented apotential barrier to any disabled candidates. If thiswas the case, the situation was reviewed again to

ensure that such competences were included onlywhere essential to the subject. The ndings of thisprocess were discussed with disability groups andwith disabled people.

Reasonable adjustments are made for disabledcandidates in order to enable them to access theassessments. For this reason, very few candidates

will have a complete barrier to any part of theassessment.

Candidates who are still unable to access a signicantpart of the assessment, even after exploring allpossibilities through reasonable adjustments, may stillbe able to receive an award. They would be given agrade on the parts of the assessment they have takenand there would be an indication on their certicatethat not all the competences have been addressed.Reading independenlty may be problematic for some

students but should not be a barrier to assessment.This will be kept under review and may be amendedin the future.


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5.1 Availability of Assessment Units and Certication

Examinations and certication for this specication are available as follows:

5 Administration

5

January 2009 4

June 2009 4 4

January 2010 4 4 4

June 2010 4 4 4 4

January 2011 onwards 4 4 4 4

June 2011 onwards 4 4 4 4

Availability of units Availability of certication

AS A2 AS A Level

5.2 Entries

Please refer to the current version ofEntryProcedures and Codes for up to date entryprocedures. You should use the following entrycodes for the units and for certication.

Unit 1 LTA1A or LTA1B or LTA1C

Unit 2 LITA2

Unit 3 LITA3

Unit 4 LITA4

AS certication 1741

A Level certication 2741

5.3 Private Candidates

This specication is available to private candidates.Private candidates should write to AQA for a copyofSupplementary Guidance for Private Candidates.

Arrangements must be agreed with AQA for theassessment and authentication of coursework.


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5.4 Access Arrangements and Special Consideration

We have taken note of equality and discriminationlegislation and the interests of minority groups indeveloping and administering this specication.

We follow the guidelines in the Joint Councilfor Qualications (JCQ) document:AccessArrangements, Reasonable Adjustments andSpecial Consideration: General and VocationalQualifications. This is published on the JCQ website(http://www.jcq.org.uk) or you can follow the linkfrom our website (http://www.aqa.org.uk).

AccessArrangements

We can make arrangements so that candidateswith disabilities can access the assessment. Thesearrangements must be made before the examination.For example, we can produce a Braille paper for acandidate with a visual impairment.

SpecialConsideration

We can give special consideration to candidates whohave had a temporary illness, injury or indisposition atthe time of the examination. Where we do this, it is

given after the examination.Applications for access arrangements and specialconsideration should be submitted to AQA by theExaminations Ofcer at the centre.

5

5.5 Language of Examinations

We will provide units in English only.

5.6 Qualication TitlesQualications based on this specication are:

AQA Advanced Subsidiary GCE in English Literature (A), and

AQA Advanced Level GCE in English Literature (A)

5.7 Awarding Grades and Reporting Results

The AS qualication will be graded on a ve-pointscale: A, B, C, D and E. The full A Level qualication

will be graded on a six-point scale: A*, A, B, C, Dand E. To be awarded an A*, candidates will need toachieve a grade A on the full A Level qualication andan A* on the aggregate of the A2 units.

For AS and A Level, candidates who fail to reachthe minimum standard for grade E will be recorded

as U (unclassied) and will not receive a qualicationcerticate. Individual assessment unit results will becerticated.

5.8 Re-sits and Shelf-life of Unit Results

Unit results remain available to count towardscertication, whether or not they have already beenused, as long as the specication is still valid.

Candidates may re-sit a unit any number of timeswithin the shelf-life of the specication. The bestresult for each unit will count towards the nalqualication. Candidates who wish to repeat a

qualication may do so by re-taking one or moreunits. The appropriate subject award entry, as well asthe unit entry/entries, must be submitted in order tobe awarded a new subject grade.

Candidates will be graded on the basis of the worksubmitted for assessment.


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6

6 Coursework Administration

6.1 Supervision and Authentication of Coursework

In order to meet the regulators Code of Practice forGCE, AQA requires:

candidates to sign the Candidate Record Form(CRF) to conrm that the work submitted is theirown, and

teachers/assessors to conrm on the CRF thatthe work assessed is solely that of the candidateconcerned and was conducted under theconditions laid down by the specication.

The completed CRF for each candidate must beattached to his/her work. All teachers who haveassessed the work of any candidate entered foreach component must sign the declaration ofauthentication. Failure to sign the authenticationstatement may delay the processing of thecandidates results.

The teacher should be sufciently aware of thecandidates standard and level of work to appreciateif the coursework submitted is beyond the talents ofthe candidate.

In most centres teachers are familiar with candidateswork through class and homework assignments.

Where this is not the case, teachers should makesure that all coursework is completed under directsupervision.

In all cases, some direct supervision is necessaryto ensure that the coursework submitted can becondently authenticated as the candidates own.

If it is believed that a candidate has receivedadditional assistance and this is acceptable within theguidelines for the relevant specication, the teacher/assessor should award a mark which represents thecandidates unaided achievement. The authenticationstatement should be signed and information given onthe relevant form.

If the teacher/assessor is unable to sign theauthentication statement for a particular candidate,then the candidates work cannot be accepted forassessment.

The Head of Centre is responsible to AQA forensuring that coursework/portfolio work is conductedin accordance with AQAs instructions and JCQinstructions.

This specication operates a consortium network,and all centres following the specication belong to alocal consortium managed by a consortium adviserappointed by AQA. The purpose of the consortiumnetwork is to support teachers with all aspects ofthe specication but particularly with the courseworkunits.

Centres wishing to enter candidates for thisspecication should request permission to join a localconsortium by contacting, in writing, the subject

department at AQA.Upon joining a local consortium, centres will be sentdetails of their consortium adviser, including a contactaddress and telephone number. The consortiumadviser will be the principal source of guidance andsupport for not only the coursework elements of

this specication but will also offer advice on otheraspects of the specication such as texts chosen aswider reading. Centres may contact their consortiumadviser at any time during the course.

The consortium adviser will:

offer advice and support, particularly on thecoursework components, but on all aspects of thespecication

help centres to identify appropriate courseworktasks and texts

assist in the training of members of theconsortium in the assessment of coursework

conduct standardising meetings to ensureconsistency and reliability of marking, using thebooklet of standardisation material issued free ofcharge to every centre

provide guidance on ensuring effective internalstandardisation of marking within centres.


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6.2 Malpractice

Teachers should inform candidates of the AQARegulations concerning malpractice.

Candidates must not:

submit work which is not their own

lend work to other candidates

allow other candidates access to, or the use of,their own independently-sourced source material(this does not mean that candidates may not lendtheir books to another candidate, but candidatesshould be prevented from plagiarising othercandidates research);

include work copied directly from books,the internet or other sources withoutacknowledgement or attribution

submit work typed or word-processed by a thirdperson without acknowledgement.

These actions constitute malpractice, for which apenalty (eg disqualication from the examination) willbe applied.

If malpractice is suspected, the Examinations Ofcershould be consulted about the procedure to befollowed.

Where suspected malpractice in coursework/portfolios is identied by a centre after the candidatehas signed the declaration of authentication, theHead of Centre must submit full details of the caseto AQA at the earliest opportunity. The form JCQ/M1should be used. Copies of the form can be found onthe JCQ website (http://www.jcq.org.uk/).

Malpractice in coursework/portfolios discoveredprior to the candidate signing the declaration of

authentication need not be reported to AQA, butshould be dealt with in accordance with the centresinternal procedures. AQA would expect centres totreat such cases very seriously. Details of any workwhich is not the candidates own must be recordedon the coursework/portfolio cover sheet or otherappropriate place.

6

6.3 Teacher Standardisation

This specication operates a consortium networkand all centres following the specication belong to alocal consortium managed by a consortium adviserappointed by AQA. The purpose of the consortiumnetwork is to support teachers with all aspects ofthe specication but particularly with the courseworkunits.

The consortium adviser will hold an annualstandardising meeting for teachers in the consortium,usually in the autumn term. At that meeting theadviser will provide support in developing appropriatecoursework tasks and using the marking criteria. The

focus of the standardising meetings will be a bookletof standardisation materials issued prior to thatmeeting by AQA.

If your centre is new to this specication, you mustsend a representative to one of the meetings. Ifyou have told us you are a new centre, either bysubmitting an estimate of entry or by contacting the

subject team, we will contact you to invite you to ameeting.

We will also contact centres to invite them to send arepresentative if:

the moderation of coursework from the previousyear has identied a serious misinterpretation ofthe coursework requirements,

inappropriate tasks have been set, or

a signicant adjustment has been made to acentres marks.

For all other centres, attendance is optional.However, centres are strongly advised to attend theirlocal consortium meetings. Consortium meetingsprovide valuable support and training for teachers,offer opportunities to meet other teachers within theconsortium and enable the useful exchange of ideasand sharing of good practice.


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6

6.6 Submitting Marks and Sample Work for Moderation

The total mark for each candidate must be submittedto AQA and the moderator on the mark formsprovided or by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) by

the specied date. Centres will be informed whichcandidates work is required in the samples to besubmitted to the moderator.

6.7 Factors affecting Individual Candidates

Teachers should be able to accommodate theoccasional absence of candidates by ensuring thatthe opportunity is given for them to make up missed

assessments.

If work is lost, AQA should be notied immediately ofthe date of the loss, how it occurred, and who wasresponsible for the loss. Centres should use the JCQform JCQ/LCW to inform AQA Candidate Servicesof the circumstances. Where special help whichgoes beyond normal learning support is given, AQAmust be informed through comments on the CRFso that such help can be taken into account whenmoderation takes place (see Section 6.1).

Candidates who move from one centre to anotherduring the course sometimes present a problem for ascheme of internal assessment. Possible courses of

action depend on the stage at which the move takesplace. If the move occurs early in the course the newcentre should take responsibility for assessment. Ifit occurs late in the course it may be possible toarrange for the moderator to assess the work throughthe Educated Elsewhere procedure. Centres shouldcontact AQA at the earliest possible stage for adviceabout appropriate arrangements in individual cases.

6.5 Annotation of Coursework

The Code of Practice for GCE states that theawarding body must require internal assessors toshow clearly how the marks have been awardedin relation to the marking criteria dened in thespecication and that the awarding body mustprovide guidance on how this is to be done.

The annotation will help the moderator to see asprecisely as possible where the teacher considersthat the candidates have met the criteria in thespecication.

Work could be annotated by either of the followingmethods:

key pieces of evidence agged throughout thework by annotation either in the margin or in thetext;

summative comments on the work, referencingprecise sections in the work.

6.8 Retaining Evidence and Re-using Marks

The centre must retain the work of all candidates,with CRFs attached, under secure conditions, fromthe time it is assessed, to allow for the possibility ofan enquiry about results. The work may be returned

to candidates after the deadline for enquiries aboutresults. If an enquiry about a result has been made,the work must remain under secure conditions incase it is required by AQA.

6.4 Internal Standardisation of Marking

Centres must standardise marking within the centreto make sure that all candidates at the centre havebeen marked to the same standard. One personmust be responsible for internal standardisation. Thisperson should sign the Centre Declaration Sheet toconrm that internal standardisation has taken place.

Internal standardisation may involve:

all teachers marking some trial pieces of work andidentifying differences in marking standards;

discussing any differences in marking at atraining meeting for all teachers involved in theassessment;

referring to reference and archive material suchas previous work or examples from AQAs teacherstandardising meetings.

but other valid approaches are permissible.


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7 Moderation

7.1 Moderation Procedures

Moderation of the coursework is by inspectionof a sample of candidates work by a moderatorappointed by AQA. The centre marks must besubmitted to AQA and to the moderator by thespecied deadline. We will let centres know whichcandidates work will be required in the sample to besubmitted for moderation.

Centres are offered a choice of moderation method.They can opt for:

EITHER Postal Moderation

The selected sample of candidates coursework is

posted to the moderator at home. The sample is thenre-marked by the moderator.

OR Consortium Moderation

Consortium moderation replaces postal moderationfor those centres that prefer this method. Teachersfrom a consortium attend a moderation meeting in

their consortium area, supervised by their consortiumadviser. The samples of coursework are taken to themoderation meeting by the centre and are re-markedat the meeting.

For both moderation methods, following the re-marking of the sample work, the moderators marksare compared with the centre marks to determinewhether any adjustment is needed in order to bringthe centres assessments into line with standardsgenerally. In some cases it may be necessary for themoderator to call for the work of other candidates inthe centre. In order to meet this possible request,

centres must retain under secure conditions andhave available the coursework and the CRF ofevery candidate entered for the examination and beprepared to submit it on demand. Mark adjustmentswill normally preserve the centres order of merit, butwhere major discrepancies are found, we reserve theright to alter the order of merit.

7.2 Post-moderation Procedures

On publication of the AS/A level results, we willprovide centres with details of the nal marks for the

coursework unit.

The candidates work will be returned to the centreafter the examination. The centre will receive a reportgiving feedback on the appropriateness of the tasks

set, the accuracy of the assessments made, and thereasons for any adjustments to the marks.

We may retain some candidates work for archive orstandardising purposes.

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Appendices

A

A Performance Descriptions

Introduction

These performance descriptions show the level ofattainment characteristic of the grade boundaries atA Level. They give a general indication of the requiredlearning outcomes at the A/B and E/U boundaries atAS and A2. The descriptions should be interpretedin relation to the content outlined in the specication;they are not designed to dene that content.

The grade awarded will depend in practice uponthe extent to which the candidate has met theAssessment Objectives (see Section 4) overall.Shortcomings in some aspects of the examinationmay be balanced by better performances in others.


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ASperformancedescriptionsforEnglishLiterature

AssessmentObjective 1




AssessmentObjectives



Explore connectionsand comparisonsbetween differentliterary texts,informed byinterpretations ofother readers


A/B boundaryperformancedescriptions


a) communicatewideknowledge andunderstanding ofliterary texts

b) present relevantresponses, usingappropriateterminology tosupport informedinterpretations

c) structure and

organise theirwriting well

d) communicatecontent andmeaning throughexpressive andaccurate writing.


a) identify relevantaspects ofstructure, formand language inliterary texts

b) explore, throughcritical analysis,how writers usespecic aspects toshape meaning

c) generally usespecic referencesto texts to support

their responses.


a) exploreconnectionsand points ofcomparisonbetween literarytexts

b) communicateclearunderstandingof the viewsexpressedin differentinterpretations or

readings.


a) communicateunderstanding ofthe relationshipsbetween literarytexts and theircontexts

b) commentappropriately onthe inuence ofculture, text type,literary genre orhistorical periodon the ways in

which literarytexts were writtenand were andare received.

E/U boundary

performancedescriptions


a) communicatesomeknowledge andunderstanding of

literary textsb) make some use

of appropriateterminologyor examplesto supportinterpretations

c) communicatemeaning usingstraightforwardlanguage.


a) identify someaspects ofstructure, formand language

b) describe someaspects withreference tohow they shapemeaning

c) make somerelated referencesto texts to supporttheir responses.


a) identify someconnectionsor points ofcomparison

between literarytexts

b) show someappreciationof the viewsexpressedin otherinterpretations ofliterary texts.


a) communicatesomeunderstanding ofcontext through

descriptions ofculture, text type,literary genre orhistorical period.

A


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GCE English Literature A Specication for AS exa

a literature

Documents